Treatment
by Sophie-Lou
Summary: Ficlet. Gwen gives Arthur a massage after training.


Arthur stormed into his chambers after training.

He had been losing too many good knights lately, with Leon being the only one worth his salt left of the older ones. As for the younger ones – well – they just didn't want to learn these days. That irritated Arthur even more; not that they didn't want to learn but the fact that he was twenty-two years ago and he was starting to sound like an old man as he complained about the laziness of the seventeen and eighteen-year-olds that had recently been knighted.

Gwen was sitting on the table, waiting for him to return. It was common practise these days for them to have 'a long snogging session' (as Merlin called it) during lunchtime after training. It was part of their routine, just like training.

But she noticed his mood and how tense he was, so she didn't proceed to kiss him straight away. She slipped off the table and moved to help Arthur remove his armour, as he was struggling to do so in his annoyance.

He stopped fidgeting with the shoulder blades and let her hands do the work. "Thank you."

"I take it today's training wasn't any better than yesterday?" Gwen questioned.

She pulled each piece of armour off quickly and without any trouble. Arthur turned and moved to accommodate her. If had been anyone other than her he might have started to rip the armour off again. It came from being a blacksmith's daughter.

"They're all morons!" he declared once the armour was all finally off him. He slumped over towards his bed and collapsed onto it with a grumble. "You're here early, though. I thought you'd be doing rounds for Gaius."

"I finished so Gaius let me go to lunch early," she replied, picking up a small bottle she had brought with her.

"What about Merlin?"

"He hasn't finished his rounds."

Arthur mumbled something into his bed sheets but didn't move. He felt as Gwen slipped onto the bed besides him a rubbed the centre of him back. He grumbled something else. "Does it still feel tense?" she asked.

"A bit," he lifted his head. "Why?"

She showed him the bottle. "Gaius said I should massage this into your back and shoulders; it should realise the tension a bit."

He raised an eye-brow seductively and immediately forgot the young knights. "He said you should massage that into my back, did he?"

Gwen smiled. "Yes, unless you want to do it yourself."

"Now, now... you know I can't reach my back."

Arthur quickly scrambled up stand on his knees and turned his back to face her. She opened the bottle, poured out the cream and rubbed it in her hands to warm it up. She then proceeded to rub it firmly but gently into the muscles of his back and shoulders. Arthur couldn't help a satisfied moan as she tightened her grasp on one particular knot.

"Your muscles are very tense," she commented as she worked.

Training to become a healer, Gaius had taught her how to ease tension in muscles effectively. It seemed to be working as Arthur's kept voicing his approval with small grunts and groans. "Could you go a little lower?" he asked, as there had been one part of his back that was troubling him.

"Lie on your stomach," Gwen told him.

Arthur obeyed. Then to his surprise she straddled him to his on his lower back. She poured out more of the cream and placed her hands firmly on his back. "There?"

"Lower," he said, trying not to laugh. He hit the point. "There—I fell funny the other day and it's felt tight ever since."

"No wonder you're so tense," Gwen teased.

As she rubbed the ointment in Arthur was grateful she didn't realise just how much feeling her hands massaging his back turned him on. He shifted a little as she took her hands away finally and rubbed them on her apron. She then proceeded to remove the apron and threw it to one side, just getting it onto one of the back a chair.

"Done!" she declared triumphantly.

"Great!" Arthur said.

He suddenly used all his strength to roll over onto his back, throwing Gwen off him onto the other side of the bed. She laughed as he shifted to lean over her. "Can we make out now?" he said with comic childishness.

Gwen lifted her head to kiss him. "Of course, but I need to be gone by two."

"Then we best not waste a second longer," Arthur replied, and kissed her again.

* * *

**AN:** Written for the A/G community on LJ's 1st drabble tag. The prompt was suggested by a friend of mine as "Gwen gives Arthur a massage after training."


End file.
